Mirage
by storme.papillon
Summary: Kyouko has a new Love Me job intended to make Ren jealous. Only problem is that no one knows who the mastermind behind this latest development is or if it will succeed once Fuwa Sho finds out.
1. When One Door Closes

I do not own Skip Beat! or any related characters. There may also be some minor spoilers for those of you not quite past manga chapter 133.

**Mirage**

**A Skip Beat! Fanfiction**

Just as she was in the process of excusing herself, Mogami Kyouko, not for the first time, was asked to dinner by none other than Ishibashi Hikaru, leader of Bridge Rock, and co-star on the variety show of the same name. Politely, and also not for the first time, Kyouko shot him down cold, this time by mentioning the farewell dinner for the cast of Dark Moon. Sighing, Hikaru held up his hands in a gesture of forfeit. Lately, it was habit more than anything that kept him asking the same question after each session. Returning to his conversation with Shinichi and Yusei, the two other members of the band, Hikaru was cut short by the sound of a cell phone ring. For a breathless moment, all four talents searched their pockets frantically.

"Moshi moshi?"

It was Kyouko who won the pleasure of answering her phone. To the open mouthed astonishment of her co-stars, the young woman followed the greeting with, "Well, good evening, Tsuruga-san," at which point her amber eyes lit up with joy.

'Tsuruga! The Ren Tsuruga?' Hikaru mouthed to his two band mates who looked just as astonished as him. Meanwhile, Kyouko continued her phone call. "No it's fine. I'm only a few blocks away. I can walk." Hikaru opened his mouth to protest, but it seems that Tsuruga Ren had beaten him to the punch. "No. it's not that, it's just- No, but- If you're sure it would be okay…the studio where they're shooting 'Box R'…No, there was no shooting today I just had some 'Love Me' work to do…No, I'll wait for you outside. See you then, bye." She clicked her phone off, noticing for the first time the open mouthed stares of Bridge Rock.

Kyouko panicked. "EH!? Did I do something weird?" her expression changed rapidly from one emotion to the next until finally Hikaru stepped in to save her.

"No, it's just that, are you and Tsuruga really close?"

Kyouko stopped dead, frozen by his words. "Nooooooooo!"She moaned. "He is my most respected sempai," followed by a long list of Tsuruga related topics too fast for any of them to really understand. Hikaru took this opportunity to lead the poor girl outside so she wouldn't miss Tsuruga, but also so that he could speak to her alone for a moment. Even still, it took her a few moments to calm down. Finally, when she was rational, he opened his mouth, but she started on about how rude it had been to leave in such a manner. With seemingly endless patience, or because it was too much of a shock, Hikaru again waited for her to calm down.

"Hey, Kyouko-chan, how's your wrist?" he asked the moment the opportunity presented itself.

Instantly, she sobered up. So sudden was the change that Hikaru swore he actually felt it. Her amber eyes met his with an intensity that made his body shudder and his heart race. Her voice even changed, calling to him like a siren song, "It's fine now."

"But-"

Moving so that her face was merely inches from his, Kyouko placed a finger on his mouth, too engrossed in 'Natsu' to notice what exactly she was doing, or the position they were both in. "Don't worry," she whispered in that same sweet, yet dangerously seductive tone. "Everything is taken care of." As both of them stood like that, the frozen man, and the seductive young woman, a sleek, black car rolled up to the curb. Slowly, Tsuruga Ren himself rolled down the dark tinted window.

"Mogami-san?" Hearing him call her name, seemed to break Kyouko from her 'Natsu' spell, and she stepped back, allowing Hikaru room to breathe. At least that's what Hikaru thought.

She instead, turned her mesmerizing stare to the man who had single handedly captured the hearts of Japanese housewives everywhere, making his heart skip a few beats. Leaving Hikaru stunned and speechless, Kyouko slipped to the opposite side of Ren's car. Over the roof of the car, she caught Hikaru's eyes for the last time that night. "Remember, Hikaru-kun, it's our little secret." With those last, mysterious words, she slipped into the passenger's seat next to Ren, while the idol wondered what exactly had just happened between the two as well as what Mogami-san could possibly be hiding from him.

**Chapter 1**

**When One Door Closes…**

Kotonami Kanae had a series of problems consisting primarily of: her family, Kyouko, Tsuruga Ren, who had had the audacity to show her upon on Christmas/Kyouko's birthday, the glaring pink of the "Love Me" uniform she was supposed to be wearing, her new drama, and Tsuruga Ren, who most obviously had a crush on Kyouko. Her Kyouko! The nerve of that man! Just because he was a little- well, maybe a lot- popular with Japan's female population, he thinks he can seduce her best friend. He has no right! All he did was place some sort of stone in a rose, come up with a lame story, and Kyouko fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. Running her hands through her hair with frustration, she let out a wordless scream venting her numerous frustrations. Too engrossed to notice her partner slash best friend, Kanae almost jumped out of her skin when Kyouko whispered a listless, "Good morning," as she wafted into the room like a ghost.

With just one glance, Kanae knew something was wrong with Kyouko. First, she didn't have the amount of energy she usually would have after not seeing Kanae for a whole two weeks. Dark circles under her eyes told the story of a sleepless night, while her posture and expression, everything about her screamed depression. With one last glance, Kanae noticed bandages wrapped around Kyouko's right wrist which alerted her to the fact that a lot had happened to her friend while she was gone. Things that Kyouko had failed to tell her, at least, for now. Eventually, Kyouko would come running to her for advice, she always did. Before that thought had even finished processing, Kanae heard Kyouko ask in a small voice, "Ne, Moko-san, what did I do wrong?"

It was akin to throwing gasoline on a fire that phrase. Kanae lost it, "Start from the beginning! How can I tell you if you did anything wrong when I don't know the whole story?" Instantly, she regretted saying anything the moment tears welled up in her partner's eyes.

"Moookooo-san! I'm so sorry!" Kyouko assumed a begging position, pulling at the sleeve of Kanae's "Love Me" jumpsuit, all the while, crying a river of tears.

"Fine. Fine. Just stop it already. Geez!" Kyouko took several deep, gaping breaths, sniffing, and rubbing her eyes to calm down. "Now tell me what's wrong." Kanae practically ordered. Kyouko complied.

"Ts- Tsuruga-san hates me!" she wailed.

Kanae felt a vein pop in her forehead. Damn that man! As if it wasn't enough to show her up, he just had to force his way into Kyouko's thoughts now too. Not only that, but he upset her as well.

Before she could demand any details, Sawara stuck his head in the door, telling both of them to hurry because today was going to be one of their busiest. Then, he disappeared, Kanae glanced at her depressed friend, "Meet me here for lunch later, "she told Kyouko, her voice betrayed not a hint of eagerness, "We'll talk then". Then she slipped silently out the door.

Simply those words made a world of difference for Kyouko, she pulled on her jumpsuit with a renewed sense of vigor, just for a little while, she would shove Tsuruga Ren to the back of her mind, an increasingly difficult task lately. However, she was certain to make sure the coast was completely clear and that she was alone before pulling out the coin purse containing the blue "Corn" stone. For an emergency, like this, she felt it might be okay to hold it in her hands; maybe some of Tsuruga-san's magic would wear off on her. Folding her hands as if she were praying, Kyouko whispered "I'm okay", repeatedly, like a mantra. When it began to work, she carefully placed Corn back into his coin purse, then shoved the purse into her pocket. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out the door into the chaos known as LME.

By the time afternoon finally rolled around, Kyouko had already run all over the building, delivering scripts, costumes, helping lost people, and cleaning as well as any odd job someone found for her to do. To top it all off, everywhere she went, the whispers followed her, people talking in low voices about the rather noticeable pink jumpsuit. So it was with a sigh of relief that she stepped into the "Love Me" room. Moko-san wasn't there yet, and all Kyouko had to drink was a diet soda. She frowned, feeling like a hypocrite. After telling Tsuruga-san over and again that he has to eat properly, she goes and ignores her own advice with an extreme diet.

"But I can't help it!" she whined to her key chain Tsuruga-san doll. "It's for 'Natsu'!" She was sure he would understand, she sighed with relief.

"What's for 'Natsu'?"

Kyouko started at the sound of Moko's voice next to her. The smell of food drifted into her nose making her stomach growl. Without a word, Moko handed her a piece of plain bread. Kyouko took it gratefully. "Where's your food?"

"I'm on a diet."

Kanae choked. "What!" Just how much had happened in only a month? Geez.

"For 'Natsu'," Kyouko continued, answering her earlier question. "'Cause she's like a model, but she doesn't care what she eats, so I have to watch what I each when I'm not 'Natsu'". For an explanation from Kyouko, it was rather down to earth as opposed to all those stories about fairies and evil spirits. Actually, it was a rather deep insight, and Kanae, just for a moment, felt a twinge of jealousy. She decided to let the matter drop, however, and focus instead on Kyouko's new drama that she was in and her two co-stars, how they had become her friends, and finally to how Tsuruga-san had taught her how to walk like a female model. At which Moko interrupted her.

"He what?"

With her sincere innocence, Kyouko asked, "What's wrong?"

"Well…"Moko deliberated, "Tsuruga-san is a man after all."

"I'm aware of that."

Kanae wasn't so sure of that. "Mo, I am not explaining it to you." Kanae's inner battle with Tsuruga continued, but this development gave her a strong ray of hope. Kyouko, while aware that Tsuruga was a man, did not fully understand the implications of that fact or the fact that he had taught her something so ludicrous. Through this thought process, Kyouko watched her friend, confused.

"So," Kanae asked once she was calm enough, "why do you have this idea that Tsuruga-san hates you after all that?"

"I don't know, but last night he was really angry when he picked me up from the studio," Kanae filed away that little tidbit of information to file away later. "I was walking with Hikaru when Tsuruga-san pulled up. Then, when I got in the car…"

Tsuruga-san had his lying, gentlemanly smile plastered to his face. Her antennae had gravitated toward him, lovingly embracing his aura, and instantaneously, the spirit of 'Natsu' that had possessed her while talking to Hikaru, left her as quickly as it had come. "Good evening, Mogami-san," the words were spoken in a genuine, gentlemanly fashion barely concealing its icy undertone. Kyouko shuddered, knowing the horror had only just begun. "Who was your friend?" he asked, seemingly casually, pulling away from the curb.

"H-Hikaru-san," Tsuruga-san's knuckles had gone white when he heard this. As she feared, his anger was growing, so she added quickly, "He's a friend from some 'Love Me' work I do at the studio-"her voice trailed off as he turned his gentlemanly smile on her, completely removing his attention from the road.

"And are you two close?" he asked with thinly masked aggression.

"Not particularly. Why?"

Something about Tsuruga-san's mood warned her that she was treading on thin ice. "Then what was it you two were talking so secretly about?" A pause as Kyouko struggled to search her mind at lightning speed for an answer that he would find acceptable and would not jeopardize his already precarious mood.

"Practicing 'Natsu'," she told him, just a twinge of triumph entering her voice. To her relief, Tsuruga-san's eyes once again turned back to the road, while an uncomfortable silence settled over them. Adrenaline pumped through Kyouko's body at the lie; she felt ashamed, but it hadn't exactly been a lie, had it? 'Natsu' had just sort of slipped out after all and taken over her body.

For now, that answer seemed to calm him down; he released his death grip on the steering wheel at least. Although the bitter taste of a half truth left Kyouko with a bad feeling. For the rest of the car ride, both were silent, Ren lost in thought and Kyouko trying to not give him any reason to be angry.

Upon arriving at the party, Tsuruga-san had been the picture perfect, ideal gentleman that was expected of him greeting everyone with that lying smile, and making sure that Kyouko was never out of his sight for too long. Kyouko had barely held back from screaming at him to just give it a rest, but solid self control, something she had just begun to develop, held her firm. Instead, she had done her utmost to keep out of his way, and not get caught up in his mood swings.

"… then, at the end of the party, just as everyone was saying good-bye and good work to each other," Kyouko took a long sip of her diet soda at this point, needing to refresh her throat, "Tsuruga-san insisted that he drive me home, and I was stuck with him _alone_, again." At which point, she paused as if lost in thought or contemplating Tsuruga's and her own actions.

Moko cleared her throat loudly to signify that she_ was _still in the room and that she _was _still listening. The action did seem to snap Kyouko out of her reverie, and she glanced confusedly at her partner. "Yea, but what actually happened at the party? So he was a gentleman, isn't that what his image is? Then what happened in the car that has you so freaked out?" Moko, blurted, impatiently, annoyed that Tsuruga Ren had actually taken so much space in Kyouko's thoughts, and also because it was often so difficult to extract such information such as what was bothering her friend.

A mix of emotions played across Kyouko's face as she considered the questions; a combination of ecstasy that her friend cared so much for her troubles and her own reluctance to share details that were so embarrassing. However, in the end, it was the first that won over, and she began to share, "It wasn't really at the party, but maybe that's where it began. Really," she took a deep breath, as if the next part was exceedingly difficult for her to say aloud. "When Tsuruga-san took me home, he-"

A sharp knock on the 'Love Me' room's door ruined the atmosphere, and Kyouko seemed like she had suddenly snapped back to reality. Kanae glared in the general direction at the door thinking that whatever it was had better be life threatening. Sawara's voice slipped through the cracks of the door, "Mogami-kun, you'll have to cut your lunch break short, some urgent 'Love Me' work has come up!" Kyouko exchanged a confused glance with an even more confused Moko. "Hurry up, please!"

Kyouko reacted to the words before they had even processed through her mind, opening the door only to come face to face with a ruffled looking Sawara to greet her, before she even realized what she was doing. "Hurry, we shouldn't keep him waiting."

'Keep who waiting', Kanae thought skeptically, still annoyed at the interruption and already planning how to extract the details later from Kyouko.

"Eh?" was Kyouko's intelligent response.

"He asked for you by name," Kanae stared at her friend's back as she left the room, amazed. In this business, it was a privilege to be asked for by name, especially if you were a new talent, even if you were a 'Love Me' section member. Once again, she was brutally reminded that Kyouko was indeed a force to be reckoned with.

Meanwhile, Kyouko suspiciously followed Sawara through the maze of hallways that comprised LME studio torn between asking where it was they were going or who it was they were meeting and staying silent caught up in Sawara's mood. Finally, after having safely entering an unoccupied elevator, Kyouko finally managed to work up the courage to ask the burning question. "Who was it that asked for me?"

Sawara answered her briskly, "you're not familiar with him. You'll see when we get there." It was a rather unhelpful reply, and Kyouko decided to remain quiet afterwards.

Finally, they reached their destination after what had felt like a five minute eternity. It was one of those ordinary conference room with a large table around which were place several comfortable looking, plush chairs. Only one of them was occupied at the moment by a boy maybe just slightly older that Kyouko herself. He sat engrossed in a novel, which he closed silently and set gently on the table at the sound of footsteps. His hair fell into his eyes just slightly as her looked up to take in both Sawara and Kyouko. During which time, Sawara graciously introduced the two. "Satoshi-kun, this is Mogami Kyouko." The boy flashed a polite smile in Kyouko's direction as the man continued. "Mogami-kun, this is Izawa Satoshi, your newest project."

"EH!?"

_Thank you for taking time to read this fic, if anyone enjoyed it, even a little bit, that'd be great. I'll get the next chapter posted as soon as possible. Also, this is not edited by anyone other than me and my spell check, so any and all grammar mistakes are mine alone. ~Thank you, _


	2. Same Old Story, Brand New Scene

I do not own Skip Beat! or any related characters. The only thing I own is Satoshi-kun. There may also be some minor spoilers for those of you not quite past manga chapter 133.

**Mirage**

**A Skip Beat! Fanfiction**

In the conference room, sitting in one of the plush chairs was a boy, perhaps just slightly older than Kyouko herself, reading a novel that he closed and set gently on the table at the sound of their footsteps. He flashed a friendly smile at both Sawara and Kyouko. Sawara introduced the two, "Satoshi-kun, this is Mogami Kyouko," he flashed another polite smile in her direction as the introductions continued, "Mogami-kun, this is Izawa Satoshi; your newest 'Love Me' project." The world seemed to stand still; everything frozen in that very moment, Kyouko was left clueless, staring at the boy now before her.

"Eh?"

"This is Izawa Satoshi, he'll be your latest 'Love Me' project," Sawara just parroted what he had said moments ago.

Satoshi meanwhile stood from his chair with more grace than expected. His longish brown hair fell into silvery blue eyes as he politely offered his hand to Kyouko, she guessed he couldn't be older than a couple of years to her sixteen, perhaps eighteen or nineteen. "A pleasure, Mogami-san," his voice held just the slightest hint of an accent, something foreign that Kyouko couldn't quite place. Immediately she recognized that he was rather good looking, but in showbiz, that had become almost a necessity. He stood several inches taller than her, not quite head and shoulders, but she still had to look up to meet his gaze. "I'm sure you must be very confused," his voice had a nice quality to it, soft and sure at the same time. For a moment Kyouko stood frozen with shock before she mechanically raised her hand to shake his, unsure of what was going on.

Sawara-san watched the two silently for a moment. Kyouko let go of the boy's hand as quickly as possible, pulling her arms stiffly to her sides, betraying yet again her confusion at the entire situation. She felt Satoshi's eyes study her, not inappropriately, just taking her in, like he was taking a photograph. She stood very still, very quiet, and very nervous. No one spoke for a long time, and during that eternity, Kyouko took a moment to study him as well. His mouth naturally curled at the corners, giving the impression that he was constantly up to mischief. Brown hair had been teased and styled into a messy, slightly spiky hairdo giving the impression that he had just woken up. His clothes looked like they had been picked and chosen at random, but Kyouko knew for a fact that it was really some sort of designer trend. Artistically ripped jeans splattered with bleach gave him a worn look, while a light blue t-shirt fit tightly over his chest showing off his slight build. A silver chain around his neck and a wristband accompanied various accessories completed the ensemble

When the silence finally was broken, Kyouko jumped at the sound, even though it was only Satoshi's soft, musical voice, "I think you'll be okay, will you accept the offer?"

Kyouko started at the question. "What offer would that be?" she asked, guarded.

Satoshi's face lit up with a grin that was friendly enough, but his blue eyes danced with mischief. It was the only response she needed for a dead weight to fall into her stomach. She dreaded finding out what this boy wanted from her enough to ask for her by name.

**Chapter 2**

**Same Old Story, Brand New Scene**

"Good, now tilt your head away from the camera, that's it!" a click and several flashes followed on the heels of those directions. Yashiro watched silently with mildly curious disinterest the happenings of the photo shoot. Same old story, just a new scene. Every photo shoot went the same way, especially with Tsuruga Ren as the model. It became mundane after so many times; the same routine, the camera crews, the head photographer who was trying to create what he perceived to be art, and of course, the designer labels. Then, as always, there was Tsuruga Ren, the center of all the hustle and bustle, the object of everyone's attention in some form or another. Calm and involved, or at least that's how the idol appeared to those outside "the know"; those that knew how lately he was becoming increasingly attached to one such Mogami Kyouko in a relationship that was headed nowhere fast. Last night had been yet another prime example of that. "Good! Let's get it wrapped up!" the call knocked the manager out of his thoughts.

Yashiro's eyes focused on Ren, amiably chatting with a few of the cast and some of the other models involved in the shoot. Several of the women shot him suggestive glances that Ren didn't seem to even notice. As it were, several of the younger, less experienced crew shot envious glances in the direction of the "Casanova". The manager sighed, at least two days at an on location shoot should clear Ren's head over what had happened with Kyouko; whatever it may be. Perhaps even Kyouko would calm down enough to hold a peaceful conversation. Yashiro sighed, now he was just wishing for the impossible. For some reason that girl had some sort of idea that no matter what she does, Ren still hates her; if only she knew how wrong that was. Although he couldn't really blame her after the Karuizawa incident, never before had he seen Ren so angry or hurt.

The night before though was almost a rival to that unspeakable incident, however. Ren had walked in followed from a distance by a distraught Kyouko. To the untrained eye, nothing would have been out of the ordinary in terms of the idol. Yashiro, however, was no amateur at reading his charge's moods. The tell sign was Ren's too friendly smile, an attribute Kyouko already knew, but also a slight curl in the fingers of his left hand. This was something only the manager had ever noticed. When Ren was secretly battling immense anger, his left hand began to curl into a fist, as if he was willing to resort to violence. Yashiro sighed again; the man really was a lot of work.

"What are you so depressed about?" Tsuruga Ren looked at his manager as he gulped down the ice cold water. All day Yashiro had been standing around, sighing like the whole weight of the world was on his shoulders. Ren had a pretty good idea that whatever the reason it had something to do with Kyouko. Every problem in his life lately, Yashiro had somehow managed to connect with that girl. Although, he would admit, if only to himself, that that theory was partly correct, Ren had no desire to make that fact known to Yashiro.

Predictably, the manager turned his full attention on Ren. His eyes stared like piercing daggers, as if trying to read the poor idol's very soul. At least, that's how Ren had come to see it lately. "Last night, what happened between you and Mogami-san?"

For a moment, Ren struggled to keep his composure. He had been unsuccessfully trying to block that whole period of his life from memory. It was his turn to sigh; only Yashiro would pour salt on such fresh wounds. "Why does everything in my life have to somehow be related to her?" he asked his manager with only the barest hint of irritation.

"For a man in love, every problem is related to a woman," Yashiro gave a knowing nod at this, seeming to consider himself Ren's mentor on such issues as romance. "Especially," he added "when that love is unrequited."

Ren almost spit out the water he had just drank. That diagnosis was a little too spot on for his liking. Yashiro's face split into a grin. He knew victory when he had it. "You seem to be lost too much in fantasy." Ren congratulated himself on his cool demeanor as he put up with this interrogation.

Yashiro just gave him a pointed look. "I may not be an expert on love, but I do know a hopeless case when I see one."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Excuse me, Tsuruga-san," a young crew member made his way timidly towards the two men. Ren flashed his winning gentlemanly smile at the poor boy, whose heart skipped a beat. "Uh, well, you see" the boy tried to stutter out unsuccessfully.

"Yes?"

"Enomoto-sama asked me to tell you that he wants to start shooting the next scene in twenty and that your clothes are ready, if you would just follow me," Yashiro marveled at Ren's ability to charm and dazzle anyone who came in contact with him. Well, everyone but Kyouko, then again, if he could charm her then it wouldn't be so fun. Yashiro laughed to himself.

Ren glanced back from following the young intern, his manager had cracked. The poor guy was convinced Ren was madly in love with Kyouko. How was that for crazy?

Ren followed Yashiro's example and let out a deep sigh the moment the intern was out of earshot. Sitting down on a chair situated in the corner of the small room, Ren actually thought seriously about Yashiro's accusation. Was it really bad enough that even Yashiro had begun to notice? And if so, how long before other people caught on to his secret emotions. He buried his head in his hands, and then the disaster of last night happened. He had never meant to do that, but-

Kyouko had been avoiding him the whole night, ever since he dropped her off. Then again, he really couldn't blame her, after the way he had reacted when she sat in the car. But really, who could blame him? He had seen her standing dangerously close to another boy, whispering secrets into his ear. The wave of jealousy was still enough to make him pause. It had taken all his self control not to get out of the car. Then he heard Kyouko's voice "Remember, Hikaru-kun, it's our little secret." There had been a slightly seductive tone in that voice that sent a shiver down Ren's spine. He remembered irrationally thinking that he would give anything to have her speak to him like that.

Fast forwarding past that rather embarrassing moment, though, and you come to the end of the party. Director Ogata had been set to take Kyouko home, but no, Ren had stepped in.

"It's okay, Director, I'm heading that direction anyway," Ren interjected between the two, smooth as could be. "After all, we wouldn't want to inconvenience you," Kyouko opened her mouth, presumably to protest, but Ren cut her off. "After all, the director lives in the opposite direction of Daruma-ya."

Kyouko stood there sulkily while Ren continued to reassure Ogata that Kyouko was safe in his care. She had then followed him silently to the car. He had not thought much of it, just that she was being herself and overreacting to his mood swings. However, he wasn't quite over the shock of earlier, "So, Mogami-san, have you taken up the practice of hiding things from me?"

She started at his accusation, her eyes met his with just the slightest bit of hesitation. "N-no, I wouldn't," her hands shook slightly.

His first reaction was fear that she had taken him too seriously and was actually afraid that he was actually angry at her. They stood in a slightly awkward silence as he carefully planned his next statement, "Then what was the meaning of 'our little secret'?" he tried to insert a joking lilt into his voice, to make the question seem innocent, but instead it poured out cold and accusing. That's when the world had turned upside down.

Kyouko's head snapped up, she stared him in the eye, her shy demeanor completely gone, and in its place, that of a confident young woman. Ren noticed instantly that she had slipped into character; this wasn't the Mogami Kyouko he knew."Is it really any of _your_ concern?" she asked, her voice slipping into that dangerously seductive 'Natsu' tone. As for what happened next-

A knock, followed by a shout, "Tsuruga-san, you're needed on set!" Ren sighed, pulled out of his reverie; he would have to deal with this problem later. For now he just set the whole thing in the back corner of his mind and stepped out of the makeshift dressing room his calm and collected demeanor firmly in place.

Miles away, back in the headquarters of LME, one Kyouko Mogami was blissfully unaware of the discomfort and worry she had caused the poor male icon. Instead she watched as a slightly mischievous boy interrogated her best friend in the Love Me Headquarters. "Ne, Kanae-chan, how did you become a Love Me member too?"

Moko-san took in the boy coldly. "What are you doing here? No boys are allowed here. It's our locker room!" Kyouko had long since given up trying to act as a mediator between the two parties. They were both desperate to start a fight.

A corner of Satoshi's mouth twitched with victory. "I never saw a sign posted."

"That's because it's obvious!" Moko's voice rose almost to a yell by the end of the accusation, "Are you _that_ stupid?" She threw her pink Love Me jumpsuit into her locker, slamming the door shut with more force than strictly necessary.

Kyouko flinched at her friend's anger, somehow feeling responsible for Satoshi's behavior; he had proven to enjoy antagonizing her close friend. "Izawa-san, maybe would you please wait outside till we're ready to go?" she asked in a small voice, hoping to divert Moko's anger.

For a moment, it looked like he would refuse, until a sincere, angelic smile spread across his face. "As you wish, Mogami-san," he muttered dramatically. In moments he had left the room without another sound.

Kanae stared at Kyouko. "How the hell did you do that?" she asked voice tinged with disbelief.

Kyouko shrugged, almost as surprised as her friend. Kanae tried to needle her for more info, "Why is he with you? How is it that he qualifies as a 'Love Me' project?"

Once again, all Kyouko could do was shrug. After introducing them, Sawara had said little else other than that Satoshi would be shadowing her for a while in order to see firsthand how the business worked. She sighed; there was no way she could take another day of him and Moko arguing pointlessly. "I'm not too sure; all Sawara-san said was that he was a 'problem child'."

"Aren't we the problem children of LME?" Kanae asked, meaning the Love Me section.

"Sawara-san said that that wasn't true, that Izawa-san is different," Kyouko shifted nervously, feeling Kanae's agitation towards her.

"How is he your problem then?"

"Uh, well, I have to go meet the president; Sawara-san said that he would tell me more about it."

Kanae sighed, "If you ask me, the whole thing seems rather suspicious."

Kyouko started at that, everything involving the president was usually suspicious, just not always in a bad way. "Yeah," she agreed listlessly.

Scrutinizing her friend, Kanae decided that, for the moment, it was better to let the matter drop, Kyouko seemed like she was too preoccupied with other things to really put her heart into this one. "So, what about the thing that happened with Tsuruga-san?" A split second after the question had left her mouth, Kanae regretted it. Kyouko seemed to fall into despair. Kanae even swore that the room turned darker.

"Don't say his name!" Kyouko ordered in that dark, demonic tone she sometimes used to speak of Fuwa Sho. "I have disappointed him!" she wailed. Kanae just stood there, unsure.

"Have you even tried t o call to apologize?"

Instantly, Kyouko sobered up, "Huh?" She shook her head pathetically as if the thought had never occurred to her.

Briefly, Kanae wondered if Kyouko was really that dense. Then again, it was Kyouko she was talking about, not necessarily the brightest when it came to social graces. "Wasn't it you who said he would forgive anyone who truly meant it?"

Kyouko paused, "Although, I wouldn't mean it."

At that moment, the PA system decided to kick it, and Lory's voice was projected throughout the entire building. "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen," his voice echoed down the halls, "I am looking for Mogami Kyouko-san of the Love Me section. I wish that both her and her new project report to my office by the time I finish this next song." Following the sound of the president clearing his throat, then a booming baritone overtook the speakers as he launched into his own rendition of a popular song, one Kyouko had heard several times before.

Satoshi burst into the room. "We better hurry!" he shouted over the racket. Next thing Kyouko was aware of was being pulled quite forcefully from the room, still in her bright pink jumpsuit. Satoshi's fist was buried in the material at her neck as he forcefully dragged her, running full speed to the elevator.

"I'll call youuuuuuuu!" Kyouko shouted desperately to Kanae as she struggled not to fall.

Kanae just sighed. Why couldn't one day just be normal around here? If it wasn't Tsuruga Ren, there was always someone else. And what was with that president? Is it really necessary to sing so loudly just to get someone's attention? Kanae ran her hand calmly through her hair and took a deep breath. For today, it was no longer her problem. Without a backwards glance she left the building, grateful to be away from the president's try at karaoke, leaving Kyouko to try and deal with her own problems alone. Smiling to herself, Kanae decided that she would take a nice, calming, relaxing bubble bath and wait patiently for Kyouko's call.

_Author's Note: Wow, this chapter took forever to write. For those of you wondering, real life got in the way. Life gets kind of hectic, but over the summer, I'll do my best to update often. Once again, no one else but me reads these before they are posted, so any and all errors are mine alone. However, I might start thinking about finding a beta soon, but does anyone know how to go about that? I'm not too sure how. Anyway, as always, thanks for reading. ~_


	3. Train Wreck at Hapi Tyme

I do not own Skip Beat! or any related characters. The only thing I own is Satoshi-kun. There may also be some minor spoilers for those of you not quite past manga chapter 133. Anything that happened post chapter 133 will not be referenced here.

**Mirage**

**A Skip Beat! Fanfiction**

Surprisingly, the décor of the president's office was fairly normal, in a lavish sort of way. Ok, so for most people, it would have been overly plush, but acknowledging who it was and what said person's usual taste was, it was fairly normal. This week the theme is Safari. All around the office hung pictures of savanna animals. Lions, gazelles, giraffes, and other countless safari animals lined the walls, looking out eerily from their paintings as if able to actually see anyone who stepped into the office. Several plush chairs were set around a desk, all of them upholstered with zebra and tiger prints. The pelt of a tiger covered a good portion of the floor; the glass eyes seemed to regard the two new comers with a cold stare. "Don't worry, it's fake." The president reassured them from behind his desk at the opposite end of the room.

"Sure as hell looks real," Satoshi muttered from behind her. "Let's just say, I _still_ wouldn't want to meet that in a dark alley."

Kyouko managed a slight smile at his antics, but was too curious and too nervous to really pay him any attention. Instead, she walked stiffly forward, having been released from Satoshi's death grip on the back of her uniform, and made her way across the mock savanna to stand before the slightly eccentric president. Lory looked over the two kids standing before him; one nervous, the other smug. "So have you told her the great news yet?" he addressed the young man, who, in turn, offered a strange mischievous smirk in return. His eyes seemed to turn innocent as he replied. "What? And spoil the surprise? No way! I'll leave that up to you, President."

Lory grinned like a kid at Christmas.

**Chapter 3**

**Train Wreck at Hapi Tyme**

Kyouko sighed into her ice cream. She didn't deserve this! What had she ever done to deserve this!? The meeting with the president was long since over, and the poor girl had finally met up with Moko in order to perform the weekly Friday ritual of ice cream at their favorite shop, Hapi Tyme. Every Friday the place would be flooded with people anxious to sample the latest ice cream flavor. It was a Hapi Tyme tradition that a new ice cream flavor came out every single Friday. And so, every Friday, she and Moko would journey to the shop to sample the new flavor and catch up with each other. More often than not, the few hours they spent there were becoming the only time during the week that they had time to see each other.

"Impossible!" Kanae almost yelled at the top of her lungs. "There is no way you can do _that_!" Outraged at this latest development in her best friend's career, Kanae half contemplated storming the president's office to tell him that it simply couldn't be done. This Izawa Satoshi kid was a lost cause. What she had seen of him today was proof of that!

"Moko-san, I don't think-"

"It doesn't matter what you think! It's impossible!"

"But it should be fine; after all, I am a talent.

They drifted into a tense silence. Kyouko entertained the idea that maybe Kanae decided she hated Kyouko for accepting such a job. Then again, it was an official "Love Me" project so there wasn't really much choice in the decision on her part, was there? Still, she felt the need to reassure her friend, to make her feel that Kyouko wasn't betraying her! "Moko-san!" Kanae suddenly cringed at the tone in Kyouko's voice, something the hinged on borderline depression. "No matter what happens, we'll always be friends though, right?" the last part was insecure, as if the orange haired girl really thought she would be hated.

Kanae shifted uncomfortably, staring at her scoop of ice cream as if it was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. She needed a new subject, and needed it now. The whole business with their latest problem could wait to be addressed later, especially if it was going to throw Kyouko into one of her dark moods. Already the girl seemed perilously close to the edge of that dark abyss. Trying to think of a new subject, Kanae suddenly remembered their formerly abandoned conversation concerning a particular idol. "So, why won't you ask Tsuruga-san to forgive you?"

Kyouko stiffened; the question seemed to blind side her. For a moment she stopped worrying about one predicament, instead exchanging it for another. "I just wouldn't mean it." Kanae panicked when she realized her question had been the final push to send her friend over the edge; Kyouko slipped into that dark place. Dark clouds of dejection swarmed around her. Her faithful little Kyouko devils reached out to grab anything or anyone who was close enough. Even though she couldn't see them, Kanae felt a cold fear grip her and she could have sworn something drifted toward her, whispering, "Your jealousy, it's so beautiful, so delicious!" Although, it must have been just her imagination, at least, that's what she hoped.

"Um, it's okay, really, if you don't want to tell me- " Kanae's voice trailed off, as she decided it was probably better off that she left her friend to wallow in depression just a little bit longer, to let her get it out of her system.

A few blocks away, Tsuruga Ren sneezed as he expertly maneuvered his car through the crowded city streets. Even, idols sneezed when their friends talk about them. Yashiro looked over at his charge, a slightly worried frown marring his face. The photo shoot had been a success, and the two of them had arrived back with little incident. Although that one group of fan girls lying in wait to ambush the star had been a minor setback. However, that wasn't what had him worried. Recently, Ren had started looking more and more haggard, like he wasn't getting enough sleep, as if something big were bothering him. The answer, as it always was lately, had to be a certain someone: Mogami Kyouko. After all it made sense; his weird behavior had started after the farewell dinner for the Dark moon cast; particularly after the Casanova had driven a certain talent home. It must have been something major too. Had Ren done something regrettable to the innocent girl?

"Ren," Yashiro started, unsure of what to say next. Instead, the idol's name hung in the, creating a tense silence between him and the manager. Or maybe it was only tense on the part of the manager, who was already nervous enough about prying into his charge's personal life. Sometimes he even worried himself, being so nosy. The way he figured it though, Ren needed someone to talk to about his personal problems, even if that someone had to forcefully beat it out of him. Idly, Yashiro wondered just how long it would be before he began doing exactly that.

Ren brought the car to a stop in front of the manager's apartment building. "Was there something you wanted to say?" he asked politely. So he had heard and just chosen to ignore me, Yashiro thought indignantly, really Ren could be so immature sometimes.

Now that the moment had come, Yashiro's mind drew a blank on what he had been wanting to ask all the way home. Instead he caught Ren's eye with a sort of steady determination. "You should apologize to Mogami-san." Ren opened his mouth to protest, but the manager didn't let him get very far. "No protest. I don't know what you did, but somehow, you brought this on yourself."With that he slammed the door indignantly and stalked up to his room, feeling as if, somehow, he had just stood up to the school bully.

Absent mindedly Ren tapped his fingers against the table as he skimmed through the latest scripts Yashiro had given him. Lately, he seemed to be the popular choice for chick flicks and romance filled dramas. Apparently Dark Moon had helped him grow, but still, Ren tossed the script on top of two others just like it, there was only so much he could take. Really, what kind of irony is this? The star contemplated the conundrum called his life as he elegantly lifted a spoonful of ice cream to his mouth. A couple of college students sitting across the small ice cream shop from him were whispering conspiratorially together, occasionally throwing glances in his direction. Pretending like he didn't notice, the star hunched his shoulders and lowered his head. All he had to disguise himself was a baseball cap and a scarf pulled up so that it covered most of his chin and part of his lower face.

For about an hour he had wandered around the city aimlessly after dropping off his manager. After driving by the ice cream shop several times, he decided he would stop; it would give him some place to be other than his apartment. He could easily forget the thoughts tormenting him. _The way Mogami-san's lips had-_ Ren's head snapped up, halting the thought in its tracks. This was no good if he couldn't control his thoughts. Casually, he glanced at his watch, surprised by how much time he had wasted at the shop. Almost two hours had gone by since he had decided to immerse himself in the latest scripts. He sighed. More and more often he was using work as an excuse to shut himself off.

A bell rang as another night customer walked in. Ren didn't give the guy much thought as he watched him order the week's special flavor. Realizing he was staring, Ren glanced down and grabbed the next script on the table. Hopefully one that would promise to be a little more than the average love story; he didn't even glance at the title. He had just started when someone interrupted him.

"Is this seat free, Tsuruga-sempai?"

Ren glanced up casually at the intrusion into his latest script reading. A boy, probably a few years his junior, slid into the seat across from him. For the life of him, the idol could not recall the boy's name, even though he was positive he had seen that same combination of a messy brown hairstyle and silvery blue eyes wandering around the LME Studio recently. Ren's eyes narrowed as he tried in vain to recall a name. No such luck. Glancing around the shop, Ren noticed there was no particular reason for him to choose that particular seat. The place was pretty empty, even the staring girls had moved on after seeing his lack of interest. Wait a minute. "Are you from LME?"

A mischievous grin twisted the boy's face into a half smile, and his eyes seemed to sparkle. "You could say that." He paused as one of the servers placed a large bowl of ice cream on the table in front of him. The store logo stared at Ren as if mocking him for his lack of knowledge, the words "Hapi Tyme" serving only to annoy him even further. "Today was my first day."

Recognizing a fellow coworker, Ren plastered on his gentlemanly smile, might as well try to seem nice to his kouhai. "And how do you like it so far?"

The boy took a bit of ice cream before responding. "It's alright. Do you know about the 'Love Me' section? The one with the gaudy pink uniforms?"

Ren didn't like where the conversation was headed. "Hard not to notice. What's your name anyway?" the question was guarded, almost to the point of rude, but Ren tried to cover up the edge in his voice with another one of his killer smiles.

"Izawa Satoshi. And, Tsuruga-san, you don't have to hand me those fake smiles. We're not working, there's no need for an act," Ren started at that statement, then let his smile slip from his face, leaving a flat, almost challenging expression in its place. Satoshi did the same, and the mischievous grin fell from his face, and his eyes no longer sparkled, instead becoming unreadable, cold.

Ren let a moment of silence passed as they each sized each other up. "So, Satoshi-kun, do you have business with me?"

"Nothing gets by you."

"What is it?"

This time, they boy's face lit up in a real smile. Only this wasn't a smile that came from being happy, rather there was something slightly twisted in it. "The script you're reading right now," Satoshi pointed to the object in question lying in front of Ren. "Take the part."

If he said it was the first time someone had tried to bully him into a part, Ren would be lying. Normally though, it was a director or his manager, never had he had a fellow actor try and get him to make up his mind about a part. Sure, women wanted to costar with him, but none had ever gone so far as to bully him. "Why?"

"It's a test."

"Of what?" Despite himself, Ren was thoroughly intrigued.

Satoshi gave him a look that implied he thought Ren was definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed. "Your acting of course."

Trying to suppress a sigh, Ren gave the boy a dead pan look. Maybe it wasn't so interesting after all. "Too late."

Chuckling, Satoshi's smile twisted just a little bit further, as his voice lowered and he leaned in conspiratorially. "This isn't to test your stage acting. This is to test your everyday acting. Trust me, this project will be different. It will push you farther than Dark Moon. What I'm hoping is that it will shatter this image you've created called 'Ren Tsuruga'."

"What do you have against me?" Ren felt this was appropriate to ask in this situation.

Satoshi's face relaxed and an innocence that could in no way be false took the place of his twisted smile. "Nothing, actually. A certain someone told me to break you. Said something about it being unhealthy keeping all your emotions locked up, keeping your true self locked away. Load of sentimental bull, if you want my opinion, but it sounded interesting."

Something in Satoshi's expression made Ren feel like he was telling the truth. And once again, he felt interest tugging at him again. "And if I accept?"

"Ironically enough, the script you're holding is the first episode of a drama called _Mirage_, based on a story by the author Himura Soshi. I think you can guess the theme."

"Appearance versus reality?" Something about the whole situation seemed a little too cliché.

"Nailed it."

"'After all, everyone creates a persona for themselves. Everyone wears a mask that hides their intentions. Someone who seems perfectly trustworthy can stab you in the back without notice. Like a mirage in the desert, they trick you with appearances, just to take you down. Anyone who's ever been successful learns this fast.'" Ren recognized the line from the first page of the script, it was written to be an opener, almost a prologue. "Wouldn't you agree, Kuon?" Ren gave a start at his real name. His shocked eyes searched for an answer as Satoshi set down his spoon in the empty dish. The boy's blue eyes had lost their sparkle, and his expression was deadly serious. "You would know better than anyone."

"How did you-"Ren let the question hang in the air, but Satoshi caught the drift.

"Know your real name?" When he laughed, there was a dark edge to his tone, almost sinister. "Who knows?" Satoshi shrugged his shoulders the same way Ren always did when he didn't want to answer a question. In the space of a split second, Satoshi had switched expressions. His customary mischievous grin was back on his face, and his eyes sparkled once again. The dark person that had been in front of him just a moment ago could have been a dream, or rather, a nightmare.

Before he had time to recover from the shock of such a sudden change, Satoshi was standing up, getting ready to leave, "Well, Tsuruga-san, I'll be seeing you." He acted as if they had been friends for ages instead of meeting just a short time ago. Ren watched him head for the door with a carefully guarded expression. The latest addition to LME was definitely an enigma. The star wondered which of the two personas was the real Satoshi. Then a disturbing thought hit him. Was that they way he seemed to other people? Casually nice, but deep inside bitterly cold? He shook his head, it didn't really matter. In the end, he just decided to start keeping a closer eye on this so called Izawa Satoshi.

"Did you catch the name of the flavor?" Satoshi asked him casually, meeting Ren's hostile glare.

"No." The way Ren replied seemed to imply that he didn't really even care.

"It's called Train Wreck." With a wave of his hand Satoshi slipped out the door and disappeared in the night crowds of the city. The name somehow seemed perfectly suitable.

_Author's note:_

_I apologize for the long wait. Real life, school, a social life, and a family one all tend to be very time consuming I realize. However, reading the Skip Beat! Manga, I find that the latest chapters just don't inspire me like the whole 'Natsu' arc did. I couldn't seem to find inspiration for this chapter. Thank you everyone for your support of this story. Your reviews really helped me become motivated to continue! And I now have a means to use my own computer and internet, so hopefully I can put up chapters faster. The goal right now is going to be about one a month. Thank you all for your support. I wouldn't have even made it here if not for you! _

**NEXT TIME:**

What exactly happened between Ren and Kyouko? Why is Lory so secretive about Kyouko's new job? What exactly has Kyouko been assigned to do with Satoshi? And what happens when Sho catches word of the latest big name drama?


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